Naver 'Line' Service Discontinuation Movement: All Data to be Transferred to Japan by September

Measures to Address Inadequate Personal Information Protection

▲Takeshi Idezawa, Line CEO [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Line, the free messenger service under Naver that overwhelmingly leads the Japanese messenger market, has decided to transfer all data of Japanese users stored in Korea back to Japan by September. This is a follow-up measure announced after concerns were raised about Line's insufficient personal information protection.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 24th, Takeshi Idezawa, CEO of Line, held a press conference the day before and announced these strengthened personal information protection measures. The core of the plan is not only to block China's access to personal data but also to move the data of Japanese users stored in Korea back to Japan. In addition to blocking access to Japanese servers from China, Line will also suspend development and maintenance work related to Line communication functions and services conducted in China. Furthermore, all data stored on Korean servers, including photos, videos, and Line Pay payment information, will be sequentially transferred to Japan by September this year.

Line, which has been serving in Japan since June 2011 and has 86 million monthly users, is considered Japan's national messenger. Recently, it has been embroiled in controversy amid concerns that Japanese citizens' personal information could be transferred to China.

Earlier on the 17th, the Asahi Shimbun raised concerns that Line outsourced the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies used in its services to a company in Shanghai, China, which could lead to Japanese citizens' personal information being transferred to China. Additionally, Japanese media pointed out that most of the service data, including conversations between Line users, is stored on servers located in Korea, which led to movements to stop using Line within Japan, especially among central and local governments.

CEO Idezawa said, "We sincerely apologize for causing inconvenience and concern to users," and added, "No information leaks have been confirmed so far." Kyodo News pointed out, "As Line's role as a public infrastructure in Japanese society has grown, this issue has led the government and local authorities to move toward suspending the use of Line," and noted, "It remains to be seen whether Line will regain trust with the measures announced this time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.